Drunk captain on chemical tanker arrested

The captain of the chemical tanker Stenberg has been detained by the Swedish Coast Guard for being drunk while navigating. An inspection by the Coast Guard authorities found that the master of the ship (believed to be a citizen of Latvia) had a blood alcohol content of 0.6 miligram, the minimum allowed quantity is 0.2. The signal came from a pilot who saw that the captain was not in condition to operate the vessel.

The ship Stenberg was sailing with 15,000 tons of naphtha on board, product that could cause environmental disaster. The vessel was sailing from Ventspils (Latvia) to Stenungsund.

After boarding the ship Stenberg, the pilot (the one who guides vessels to bring them safely to port) discovered that the captain was not in condition to navigate (there are rumours about that the pilot was not capable of waking up the drunk captain). The hazardous and inflammable cargo provoked the pilot to take a quick decision, he had to put the ship at anchor and alert the authorities (the Coast Guard arrived 2 hours later).

The captain is in police custody and will be questioned by the Swedish Coast Guard. After an investigation, the case will be directed to the prosecutors.